


Love Shack

by anythingbutplatonic



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, M/M, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-04-03 19:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4112419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anythingbutplatonic/pseuds/anythingbutplatonic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coffee shop AU. Originally posted on Tumblr September 9th 2013.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Shack

In all fairness, it was pretty hard to miss the small but very, very noticeable coffee shop on the corner of East 28th street, but on this particular day Kurt had walked right by it before realizing what it was that he was looking at. 

Head down, nose buried in a list of Very Important Things that he needed to do that day and already late, he hurried on by before the sign outside the coffee shop in question, right on the corner and very easy to walk past, made him stop and do a double take.

On the small chalkboard sign was written, in multicoloured chalk;

_All you need is love, equal rights, and coffee._

He read it and he read it again. He looked up, and was surprised. 

The sign in question belonged to a coffee shop called The Love Shack, brightly painted in a mosaic - no, a  _rainbow_  - of colour; red, blue, green, orange, yellow, purple, black and white. No colour was missing from the palette that made up the shop’s front. 

He looked at the sign again.  _Love, equal rights, and coffee_. He could certainly use all of those things - but no, he was already late for work and he hadn’t time to stop. The warm orange of the front door was inviting, and he could see that it was busy inside. But he really didn’t have the time. 

So he hurried on.

 

                    _____________________________________

The very next day, he deliberately took East 28th street during his lunch break so that he could walk by The Love Shack again, with every intention of actually going in this time. He hadn’t time for his usual mid-morning coffee and was dying of thirst and caffeine withdrawal. 

A bell above the door rang prettily as he pushed open the door and he was assaulted with noise, the smell of roasting coffee beans, and yet more colour. The walls were red, the floor orange, and the long counter that ran the length of the back of the shop was painted royal blue with purple trim. It was so busy, he had to jostle his way through the packed tables to get to it, where there was already a long line.

While he waited, he observed the other customers. He watched people through the window as they stood outside, debating whether to enter this funny, colourful place. And it  _was_  funny. A shop that was a riot of warmth and colour was uncommon on a New York street. So what was it doing here?

He got to the front of the line, and he’d be lying if he denied the fact that his heart quickened considerably at the sight of the very cute cashier in front of him, who was at that moment counting out some change into the drawer of the cash register. He was soon finished, however, and he looked up to see who was next to give their order. 

And the look of pleasant surprise on his face told Kurt that he hadn’t expected to see him, either. 

“You’re not from around here, are you?” was the first thing out of the cute cashier’s mouth.

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s just - you look confused. I’m guessing you haven’t been here before because most people who haven’t been here before look confused when they come in.”

_What?_  If the cashier had thought that Kurt had looked confused before, he certainly  _felt_  confused now. In the pause of silence, he studied his face. He looked young, maybe around his own age. He had dark hair that was styled in a Gene Kelly sort of way with a lot of gel, and wide, bright eyes - not to mention the pink lips, long eyelashes, and smooth olive skin that made Kurt think of tropical summers.

“Oh God, I’m sorry.” the cashier babbled. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Please ignore me. Can I take your order?” He flushed pink, right up to his ears. It was a pretty colour on him, contrasting as it did with his dark skin.

“Venti mocha. Latte. With extra milk.” And as an afterthought to try and dispel the awkwardness, he added, “Please.”

The cashier wrote it down on a piece of paper, tore it off, and handed it to a tall Latina girl behind him. It was then that he realized they both had the same badge on their shirts; a small rainbow motif. 

He must have caught Kurt staring, because he said, “I should probably explain…..this,” he waved his hand in the general direction of the shop. “It’s an LGBT friendly shop. Everyone here is either LGBT or a supporter.”

At this, Kurt’s mouth almost dropped open in shock. A gay rights coffee shop? Who  _thought_  of these things? But at least it explained the sign; love, equal rights, and coffee. And the colour, too, was explained. 

“I didn’t think things like this  _existed_.” Kurt replied, looking around now not in confusion, but in wonder. “This is  _amazing_.”

The cashier blushed again, an even darker pink this time, and ducked his head bashfully. Was he embarrassed? 

“I’m, uh, I’m Blaine. And I work here. Obviously. I think it’s pretty amazing, too.”

“So are you….?” He didn’t want to say it out loud, in case he embarrassed him.

“I’m gay,” the cashier - Blaine - said. “When I said everyone here was LGBT or an ally, I meant everyone. Including me.”

Kurt was saved replying by the arrival of his coffee.

“One venti mocha latte with extra milk.” Blaine put his coffee in front of him and slipped a cardboard cuff around it. “It’s hot, you’ll wanna be careful with that.”

“Thanks." 

Kurt paid. He turned, and he left. 

When he went to put the cup in the trash later, he noticed something. A message, scrawled on the cup, that had been hidden by the cardboard cuff. 

_Come back soon!_  had been written on the side in an uneven scribble, along with a doodled smiling face. Somehow he didn’t think that Blaine the cute cashier did that for all of the customers he served. 

He threw away the cup with a smile on his face. 


End file.
